Health

HEALTH • June 15, 2015 7 Clinton Hospital | HealthAlliance Hospital | Marlborough Hospital | UMass Memorial Medical Center At UMass Memorial Health Care, you'll find hundreds of caring, compassionate and skilled adult and pediatric primary care physicians across Central Massachusetts. And because our doctors are part of the region's premier health care system, access to a wide range of specialty care and our nationally recognized academic medical center is only a referral away. To find a UMass Memorial primary care physician near you, call 855-UMASS-MD (855-862-7763). I WANT IT ALL I want convenience I want compassion I want world-class care licensed. The move was cheered by the medical marijuana dispensary industry. A two-year-old state commission that played a key role in the recent flare-up over Partners HealthCare's expansion plans could soon gain even more power as the market increasingly trends toward mergers and acquisitions. A top House leader and the attorney gen- eral plan to file legislation handing more power to the Health Policy Commission, an independent com- mission overseeing the Massachusetts health care market, according to a source familiar with the proposal. Pushed by Attorney General Maura Healey and House Majority Leader Ron Mariano, the bill would make the referral of a commission report evidence of a violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, which the attorney general's office has the power to enforce. Hundreds turned out for the final public hearing before Gov. Charlie Baker's opioid abuse task force to share their stories of addiction and recovery as the administration plots a course to combat what Baker has called a crisis in Massachusetts. Baker joined Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders and Attorney General Maura Healey, both leaders of the task force, for the fourth and final public listening ses- sion on as the task force prepares to issues recommendations to the gov- ernor in June. State employees hoping for legisla- tive support to block state health insurance savings proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker visited the State House, where one top union official compared the governor's plan to a tax. Baker's plan, part of a $38.1-bil- lion budget proposal under review by lawmakers, would adjust upwards the percentage of health insurance premiums paid by state workers hired before July 1, 2003. Those workers pay 20 percent of their monthly health insurance premium, while workers hired later pay 25 per- cent, according to Baker's budget, which would make all employees contribute 25 percent of the premi- um cost. The Baker administration's mental health chief told lawmakers last month that the "bully pulpit," as much as any change in state law, will be needed to improve parity for mental health services in the Massachusetts health care system. "We have to have a bottom-line expectation that commercial and other insurers will belly up, step up and make sure there is adequacy in their networks. It's a bully pulpit. I'm not sure how much of it is legal. It's about an expectation," Mental Health Commissioner Joan Mikula said. Mikula testified before the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse during a hearing on mental health issues facing the state. (State House News Service) One of the state's largest health care providers hopes the state budget that's being assembled might spur the state's most expensive program to embrace an alternative payment model. Accountable care organiza- tions (ACOs) have been touted as an alternative to the traditional fee-for- service and a way to trim health care costs while also improving health outcomes. David Morales, chief strategist at Steward Health Care, which runs Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, estimates the use of accountable care organizations by MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, could save the agency $200 million to $400 million annually and would reduce fraud. (State House News Service) Students at University of Massachusetts Medical School will engage in clinical work at Cape Cod Hospital after both organiza- tions reached agreement on an aca- demic affiliation, the Worcester school announced. Students will begin completing clinical rotations at the Hyannis site in January, the school said. Cape Cod Hospital, located in Hyannis, is part of Cape Cod Healthcare and becomes the 23rd facility with which the medical school has academic affiliations, including UMass Memorial Medical Center and other major partners. "It is a privilege to affiliate with Cape Cod Hospital and, by so doing, to extend our footprint to a region where we enjoy so many connec- tions," Chancellor Michael Collins said.

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